The trailers of Megalopolis tease the ambitious story and creative direction of Francis Ford Coppola. Anticipation for the film is growing despite recent controversies, including irreconcilable differences with the VFX team.
Francis Ford Coppola has confirmed that creative differences and budgetary constraints contributed to his decision to fire the Megalopolis VFX Team. Impressed with their work in 2019 Brooklyn without a motherCoppola hired the team (led by production designer Beth Mickle) for their impressive portfolio and period-accurate production design. “I liked the way they handled Brooklyn without a mother,” she told Empire (via Screen Rant). “It felt like it spanned the ages. The production designer had a dual career, where she did independent films but also big Marvel movies.” Mickle's previous credits include Guide, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3AND The Suicide Squad.”Megalopolis “He really needed an art department because he had to show the world of the future,” Coppola explained.
He revealed that he eventually realized that Mickle was irreconcilably at odds with his creative vision; an initial compromise confirmed different priorities that only exacerbated the dispute.We disagreed to a certain extent that it was decided that the best thing would be if I hired a concept artist and came up with frames that showed what I wanted, which I did,” he recalled. “The art department was frustrated because they thought I was developing the look of the picture independently of them. They wanted giant sets and images. I wanted other elements like costumes and live effects to be part of the work and not have it all be about the art department. So, there was disagreement on this point.”
Coppola wanted a smaller VFX team with fewer creative heads
Matters came to a head when Coppola insisted on a smaller VFX team because the project was going over budget. “I said, ‘We need to cut corners now and make it a lot less expensive,’” he continued. Aware that the VFX team had more managers, he said they reduced their ranks. “The art department had one production designer, five art directors and one supervisor,” he noted. “It was very hierarchical. I said, 'Let's fire one of the five artistic directors,' and they said, 'Well, if you do that, we all resign.' And so I did, and so they did.”
Coppola said the visual effects team criticized the project in the aftermath.Then, of course, they put us down: “Oh, this photo is crazy,”” he said. “I thought the movie was doing really well because I love actors and I love performances.” Now, after more than 41 years in the making, Megalopolis is Francis Ford Coppola's biggest passion project; he financed the production costs out of his own pocket ($120 million without marketing). “I'm not just the director, I put up the money,” he added. “So to be told I had to have a huge art department that I didn't want was absurd to me.” Megalopolis has gained popularity recently due to other behind-the-scenes controversies, including Coppola's alleged unprofessional conduct on set.
Megalopolis will be released in theaters on September 27th.
Source: Empire (via Screen Rant)